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You’d be hard-pressed to find a rap artist in today’s current hip-hop climate who doesn’t owe a debt to A Tribe Called Quest in some shape or form. Never as anecdotal in their commentary as their contemporaries (and nowhere near as gangsta), Tribe preferred to spit their jazz-funk beats from an impartial distance, a lyrical space where violence is discussed, never committed. In our newest issue, FILTER meets with the revered group’s lead emcee, Q-Tip, to discuss the legacy of one of New York’s greatest. And rather than mourn the group’s early demise, here we pay homage to it, remembering the awareness raised in so many of Tribe’s songs to subsequently inspire the artists who followed in its wake. And naturally, we gather Tribe’s community of peers, influences and influencees to join us in tribute, with commentary from Chuck D, Busta Rhymes, Mike D, Arsenio Hall, Common, Talib Kweli, Prince Paul, Janet Jackson, Pharrell and many, many more.

Turn the pages of installment No. 29 to find a battle of wits and minds between I’m Not There director Todd Haynes and indie rock’s crown prince and fellow storyteller, Stephen Malkmus. We talk to DeVotchKa’s Nick Urata about the American diaspora and its influence on his band of eclectic Denver-gypsies, wherein the heavily traveled road finally leads them homewards. Next, we light some candles and fumble with the mood lighting before climbing into bed with Hot Chip. And have you ever heard of Alex St. Andrews and the Manhammers? God’s Assassins? Bubble Men 3000? How about Dojo? Neither had we, until the threesome of sketch-comics-on-the-beating-pulse-of-hip, Human Giant, wrote us up a little feature to shed some light on them all.

We also offer our Tributes to the best bad movie ever made, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension!, with stars Peter Weller and John Lithgow, as well as and Brit shoegaze icons Swervedriver (with commentary from members of Radiohead, Ride and producer Alan Moulder). Also, check out the cathartic art of punk rocker/visual artist, Rick Froberg, and the honorable Getting to Knows from Grand Archives, Lightspeed Champion, Switches, Beach House, and The Magnetic Fields. And let’s not forget the hitman comedy In Brugeswith director Martin McDonagh and co-star Clemence Poesy; photo spreads and F-Stops with The Kills and Dead Meadow, tons of CD and DVD reviews, and an original comic EndNote by award-winning artist and Ween fan, Jeffrey Brown. Can we kick it? Yes, we can.